FamJams

"I try to take one day at a time, 

but sometimes several days attack me at once."

Sometimes I am too much too soon too fast too big. A constant flow of things to do and places to go and pictures to take and people to see. This is how I like it, I love my people and I love meeting new ones, I love laughing and going and doing la la la. Sometimes however, this catches up to me and womps me on my ass. Whether its losing my voice from lack of sleep, which then turns into a nasty head cold. Or a phone call that spins the world slightly out of order, I go from running head first into everything to frozen. 

And this is no fun.

At this point I know myself enough to know what usually helps and what most definitely does not. 

Coffee with Mom, sad songs and my sketchbook are my usual go to. 

However this was a  bit bigger than that, so a weekend in Jersey, followed by a week here babysitting turned into exactly what the doctor ordered. 

Cut to a road trip with Moms and Cheese, which thanks to traffic on Rt 9 felt like FOREVER.

We got to Aunt Paddy's just in time for delicious dinner. Eggplant parm and homemade focaccia bread. Nom nom nom.

Bryan had just been confirmed, and his excuse to get out of ANYTHING he did not want to do was some variation of "you can't ask me to do that, it's my holy weekend." Aunt Paddy has since decided that in her next life she's coming back as Bry, cause he has it made. 

 

Finally 21 amongst the Nevin family, Maggie and I were introduced to  Irish Carbombs. Yes, that is correct: Bailey's + Jameson + Guiness, here we go. My first one was terrible, but Aunt Jan told me and Madge that "the goal is not to finish first, the goal is to not puke." Nothing like some motherly advice!

The next day it was GLORIOUS out so rather than do boring adult things with Mom and Aunt Paddy (I'm sorry but shopping for chairs and an air mattress...really?) Cheese and I headed down to the shore to have "Princess Beach Day" with Maggie!

All in all it was a success, other than Kiks failure to reapply leaving her not so much a bronze-goddess but a burnt one. (No worries Cheesy, still got time before prom!)

We than took a nap on the deck, had family dinner and some nice looking visitors ;)

Sunday was a Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom in the whole wide world and off to the races. Mom, Dad and I were all driving a car, I firmly believe mine had the best co-pilots (Ruebs and Kiks) as well as the best tunes.  They were dropping me off at Granny and Grandpa's where I would then be picked up to "babysit" Kristina for the week. And by babysit, I mean hang out with, drive around in a convertible with, and get take out. 

We went to Uncle Tommy's and Aunt Susan's for a big lunch/dinner and got to hang out with little miss Chloe. Who gets bigger and bigger every time I see her. Between that and the fact that Kristina is 13 I really feel old.

 She knew the picture was being taken and went from a big smile to this.

It's Wednesday now and this week has been pretty relaxing. Take Kristina to school, walk Dixie, got back to sleep, exercise, shower, etc. It's nice being so close to Granny and Grandpa. I love their love. I also love the wise words of wisdom that get doled out- "Always have a spoonful of honey a day Brigy, it's good for your throat and you'll never have a cold again!" and if I've learned one thing hanging out with these two, it's that tea can cure anything. 

My other best friend this week... Dixie.

Despite the fact that she will bark at anything that breathes, she's growing on me. (NEVER TELL)

Oh and I'm sorry, did I forget to mention what Aunt Liz has me riding around in this week?...

Feeling like a million bucks in this thing!

Home on the range for a couple of days. I love this place I do I do! 

How can you not love a place where this is who follows you around all day?

JOKES...I'm becoming one of those weird people that follows their pet around and takes pictures all day.  I think Ruebs will be quitting his modeling career soon because he's sick of it.
(I know parents do this with their children, and I firmly believe Rueben is MUCH cuter than any baby.)

Post-finals graduation celebrations have left me without a voice. 

This may or may not have something to do with singing Call Me Maybe in Emily's car at the top of our lungs.... every time we were in the car.

None of the big sadness about everyone graduating has hit me yet. Probably won't until I try and hang out with them at school next year and they're all gone. Here's hoping I'll be distracted enough with everything that I'm okay.

If going abroad (yes, I went abroad) taught me anything though it's that you get to pick who you keep.  Devy and Victoria are from Virginia but I have still seen them and talked to them regularly. So with everyone graduating, I'm not too concerned about it being the end. 

Tomorrow it's back to school to officially move out (and have another night to play) and then its Jersey for a week, and a Third Eye Blind concert my first weekend in Boston.

Big things big things!

Pictures of lately..

Lately Ems has taken to sleeping over on the weekends. 

Nobody is ever too old for a slumber party.

We found Cheese a prom dress!

(It's one of these but no one must know until that day!...jkjk its not a wedding)

May 1st...the birth of my sweet, crazy roommate Julie Anne. 

Finals week means proper celebrations cannot be had until Thursday. 

Appropriate footwear for a skype interview? 

Whatever you please!

142 Dubs looking very pretty this spring..

Emma's concert! She had a solo and was amazing. I got there extra early ;)

Deep deep thoughts (harharhar) no but for real..

Everyone keeps talking about the future.

I guess it's because the majority of people I know right now are about to graduate and will not be returning to good ole Storrs CT.  This makes me equal parts thrilled and equal parts petrified.

The future right now is summer and Boston. The future next year is SENIOR IN COLLEGE.

What are you doing this summer? Is that what you want to do when you grow up?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Are you going to grad school?
 Where do you see yourself in five years?
 Two?

Too many questions...feeling overwhelmed? Nonsense!
( Mind you I cannot even tell you what I'll be doing this time tomorrow. )

I make to-do lists  every day and I know that it'll all EVENTUALLY get done, but never in the order I wanted. One cannot simply wake up, class, work, nap, run.

Too much room for interactions and other things to happen.  That's how I feel about this future we all keep talking about. I can tell you what I THINK I will do.

I think that when I grow up I'd like to teach, and travel a lot, and maybe even one day have a family (or at least a dog). I think I'll go to grad school (some days). In five years I will be 26, in two 23. I think I'd like to check out life on the West Coast.

But I really truly do not know. It's like how today I thought I'd leave work and take a nap and then run. Left work, uploaded some videos onto facebook, got froyo with Ems and THEN napped. I can't tell you clear cut that its going to go A B C D E F G.

If there is one thing I have learned in this little life of mine, nothing will go as you planned or hoped.
At least not always.

Right now my to-do list for this future self that I am constantly becoming is simple. Be happy. Do things that make the people you love happy. Thee end.

:D

“If only there could be an invention,” I said impulsively, “that bottled up a memory, like a scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.” - Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

This is exactly how I feel about the past weekend. I could go detail for detail about who and where and what, but that still won't capture it. It's weird because as it was happening I was aware of the fact that this was something I was going to remember. There I am in the middle of barbequeing Saturday and I was actively thinking that when I remember this day it's going to be with a smile on my face.

Wait what was that? I was barbequeing. OH YES. The quote "Everyone is a feminist until we need to grill" was thrown out Saturday, as we were waiting for the boys to get there to start cooking burgers. That sentiment is far too accurate, and I was hungry. Despite the fact that I have never grilled anything, ever before, I decided to take it upon myself to be the grillmaster. 

Mission successful.

 While I'm still convinced the glasses of wine had something to do with it, everyone seemed to LOVE the burgers.  And thankfully I had my lovely assistant Sara to put the cheese on them. Later in the day Clark and Harrison tried to take over, but I was determined to be the grill master so they were swatted away with my spatula. 

I can't even begin to describe why this day was so perfect.

Naturally I'm saying this as I am about to attempt to describe it all. 

Alright excuse the cheesiness factor, but I felt like I was a little kid. Granted a little kid that is allowed to play with fire and grill and allowed to drink alcohol. But a kid nonetheless. I didnt feel like a college student with finals looming and various other stresses. The sun was shining and everyone was glowing, in drinks and sunshine. There was frisbee, sidewalk chalk, music blasting and the grass was SO GREEN, a whole field of green green grass and the bluest sky.

(Fun fact- I love the sky. I became aware of just how much when I was in Florence. The streets were so narrow and then you'd walk out into an opening and BAM sky and clouds. )

Nothing like some good clouds.

I probably had 20 photos of the same cloud before going through and deleting/editing pictures this weekend.

So we're behind Mandy's little red house and the sun is shining and there is grass as far as the eye can see. I'm with people I love, some of whom I haven't seen in quite some time. The happiest of days. We were all untouchable. I wasn't thinking of what I needed to get done for Monday, I wasn't thinking of anything outside the little bubble I was in. It was like going on a vacation for a day: fun, sunshiney, stress free. No one was graduating or had homework or anywhere else to be. 
( except maybe Sammy, but we got him to stay and play for as long as we could)

One of those days that you couldn't really explain to anyone that wasn't there. But since everyone has has something like that, it's understood.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't take a trillion and a half pictures of the whole day- so once again I will let those guys give some peek as to the sunshine happiness I felt.

The gorgeous Mandy who was so nice to have us all at her home :D Ye Newe.

We were chasing each other around and I managed to capture this little gem.. Sar and I are going to be living together next year, which I am BEYOND excited about. Not only will we have the most Florence/Europe-obsessed room that anyone has probably ever seen, there is also going to be photo wars constantly.  I am usually the one behind the camera, but Miss Leavitt always tries to get her shots of me...sneaky lil girl! 

Just some bros on a couch in the yard...   The musical stylings of Crunchy Granola,  the greatest Paul Simon cover song you ever did hear. "Sara, I will give you $10 if you eat this.."  (please note, she did, and is owed ten bucks) And more and more and more pictures to further express that this day was unbeatable in all of it's perfection...

OH HAPPY DAY!

Currently sitting in Starbucks with the Emily's (how is it that my two closest friends at school end up with the same name?) and I do not want to do a single ounce of work.

Now I normally don't want to do any work, but WHY NOW IN PARTICULAR?

SUSAN ANN CONNOLLY IS DONE WITH CHEMO! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS AND THE BEST DAY!

Took a picture of my eye on a particularly greeny day -- and my friend painted it!

 To the beautiful Margaret, thank you so so much :)